The US Dollar has surged in 2014, increasing in value since the start of the year versus every other major currency. A strong US dollar has big implications for the global economy and affects almost every investment in your portfolio. Not all of these effects are the same, however, and the most substantial impact may be on investments in emerging markets.

We recently discussed the rise in political risk that investors have had to deal with over the past few years. But where is this risk most likely to have a meaningful impact on US investors? The answer, perhaps surprisingly, is East Asia.

One important trend in global financial markets during the last few years has been a rise in political risk, a concept referring to political changes that could affect the value of an investment. The number of events associated with political risk—such as elections, mass protests, and military interventions—has increased by 54% since 2011, according to a study by analysts at Citigroup. This kind of increase has a couple key implications for investors.

The first quarter of 2014 had a few bumps in store for financial markets, yet in the end almost every asset class ended up with positive returns. Bonds performed well as interest rates declined and the US inflation rate remained below the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. US stocks recovered from January jitters to end the quarter in positive territory. Even emerging market stocks, buffeted by fears of financial instability in countries such as Turkey, Russia’s military adventurism in Ukraine, and weak economic data from China, finished the quarter only slightly down.